"I wish you happiness!"
Hearing those familiar words, Sakiko's pupils suddenly shrank.
And as Raana's performance began, the familiar intro slowly played.
Seeing this scene that felt so familiar, everyone couldn't help but fall into silence.
At this moment… it was just like that moment back then!
Yatsureta kokoro furueru manazashi.
At the same time, Tomori's singing of Haruhikage finally echoed across the stage.
Aside from the old fans of CRYCHIC, this was the first time hearing Tomori perform Haruhikage live.
Sekai de boku wa hitoribocchi datta.
Chiru koto shika shiranai haru wa.
The Haruhikage Tomori performed… was truly beautiful.
To those who loved it, even if it wasn't heavenly music, it was very close.
But Sakiko, at this moment, stood frozen, her mind completely blank.
Haruhikage had once belonged to CRYCHIC. It could even be said that it was a song shared between her and Tomori.
To Sakiko, this song held a meaning unlike any other.
And yet, she had thought she wouldn't be shaken by it anymore.
Until now—when Tomori used this song, originally written for her, to say goodbye!
Sakiko: It's just Haruhikage.
Tomori: I wish you happiness!
Sakiko: …?
When facing Kamijou Mutsuki's earlier suggestion, she had always insisted—that she only wanted to make up for her past mistakes, and that as long as Tomori could be happy, that was enough.
But now she realized… she wasn't as strong as she had imagined.
That weak version of herself had never disappeared—she had just been pretending to be strong.
Even after things started getting better, she had fantasized about returning to the past—to those once-happy days they shared.
But her pride had stopped her.
She didn't know how to face the girls she had once hurt.
And only now, as Tomori truly moved on and cut ties with the past, did Sakiko feel that long-delayed sorrow.
Douka kono mama hanasanaide ite.
Zutto zutto hanasanaide ite.
After an unknown amount of time, Sakiko finally came back to her senses.
At the same time, Tomori's performance of Haruhikage reached its ending.
Facing Tomori's gaze, Sakiko—tears welling at the corners of her eyes—didn't know how to respond.
As if history were repeating itself, Sakiko ran away.
She directly pushed past the female security guards surrounding her and fled the venue.
Wait… did they just see Sakiko run out?
This plot felt way too familiar, didn't it?
A live-action version of MyGO!!!!!?
Meanwhile, the security staff holding riot shields subtly blocked the direction Sakiko had run, stopping the fans from following, which left some of them speechless.
After all, although they might seem a bit unhinged at times, most fans could still tell right from wrong and understood priorities.
Even if there were a few extremists, the majority could keep them in check.
"Saki-chan…"
On stage, Tomori blinked in confusion as she watched this unfold.
She didn't understand—Sakiko had clearly said she didn't care anymore. She had followed Sakiko's wishes and conveyed her feelings… so why did things still turn out like this?
But now that she had already made up her mind, Tomori didn't fall into panic or spiral emotionally.
Watching this all-too-familiar scene, Soyo also felt somewhat lost.
The only difference, perhaps, was that she didn't have the urge to shout, "Why play Haruhikage?"
"Soyo,"
Just as she hesitated, Anon suddenly pushed her from behind.
"If you want to chase after her, then go!"
The pink-haired girl had an encouraging expression on her face.
"I'm still friends with Sakiko, after all…"
"…I can't just ignore her like this!"
"Soyo,"
Seeing that Anon didn't mind, Tomori also spoke up.
"…Do what you think is right."
"I want to understand… how Sakiko really feels."
Could it be that she had misunderstood something?
"…"
Facing this unexpected encouragement from her teammates, Soyo felt an indescribably complicated mix of emotions.
But she really was worried about Sakiko's condition.
"Tomori, Anon,"
Soyo suddenly spoke.
"I also want to… be in a band with everyone for a lifetime!"
After saying that, Soyo put down her bass and, under the protection of the security staff, chased after her. Fortunately, this wasn't MyGO!!!!!'s main performance today—they only needed to play one song.
"…Huh?"
Off to the side, Kamijou Mutsuki scratched his head at this sudden turn of events.
He turned to look at Mutsumi beside him.
Although Mutsumi always felt that these two had ulterior motives toward the person she liked, they were still her best friends—so she naturally wouldn't stop Kamijou Mutsuki at a time like this.
And so, Kamijou Mutsuki also followed after them.
"Ha… ha…"
On the other side, Sakiko had already run out onto the street, completely exhausted. She slowed down, breathing heavily.
She hadn't expected that, in reality, she would also end up fleeing in such a sorry state.
Thinking back to what Tomori had said earlier, the girl's emotions became complicated.
Clearly, this was what she had wanted—everyone moving on to their own new lives.
But why was her heart filled with nothing but confusion?
"Saki-chan…"
Soyo's voice suddenly rang out beside her. Since Sakiko had stopped, Soyo managed to catch up.
Sakiko tried to leave again, but Soyo grabbed her wrist.
"…Are you okay?"
Seeing the concern on Soyo's face, Sakiko ultimately didn't respond harshly.
"I'm fine."
"Then why did you… was there something wrong with what Tomori said?"
"Or was it Haruhikage…"
"It has nothing to do with Haruhikage!"
The girl took a deep breath, adjusting her emotions.
"This is my own problem…"
"…If there's nothing else, please let go of me."
"…"
Soyo fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"I still have something to say, Saki-chan. Did Mutsuki-kun tell you about how I feel?"
"I really… just care about you, Saki-chan. No matter what happens, I want to face it together with you, so CRYCHIC—"
"…Soyo, how many times do I have to tell you?"
Hearing Soyo start on those familiar words again, Sakiko immediately grew impatient.
"CRYCHIC is already over!"
Recalling what Tomori had said earlier, Sakiko thought to herself—
This time, it was truly over.
"…"
Soyo once again found herself at a loss for words.
In fact, after reviewing things before,
Soyo realized that a large part of why she couldn't persuade Sakiko in the anime…was because she hadn't chased after her at that moment.
It could be said that if she wanted to make Sakiko change her mind, this was her best chance!
But even so, she found that she still didn't know what to say.
Kneel again?
That would just be repeating the same path as in the anime.
And she had already promised Anon, Mutsuki, and… her mother.
Thinking of that certain elder, the girl suddenly felt a bit guilty.
In short, she wasn't going to do something like that again so casually!
So… what should she do?
Come to think of it, Kamijou Mutsuki had once said that Sakiko was actually someone who valued emotions deeply and was very nostalgic.
In the anime, the reason she broke down upon hearing Haruhikage was because it reminded her of the past.
She couldn't face her own feelings honestly, which was why she felt so conflicted—she wasn't as rejecting of CRYCHIC as she appeared to be.
Deep down… she was also reminiscing about the past!
Could it be the same in reality?
So, as long as she could make Sakiko recall their past feelings, maybe she could make her change her mind!
Soyo's "world-shocking wisdom" activated once again after a long time.
Then how could she make Sakiko remember those happy times?
Soyo's answer was…
Yatsureta kokoro furueru manazashi.
Sekai de boku wa hitoribocchi datta.
Sakiko: ?
Hearing the familiar singing coming from Soyo, Sakiko was completely stunned.
......................